1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin film deposition apparatus for depositing a thin film on a semiconductor, for example, on a semiconductor wafer, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thin film deposition apparatus forms a predetermined thin film on a wafer by supplying reaction gases to the wafer received within a reactor. This thin film deposition apparatus includes a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) thin film deposition apparatus, an atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) thin film deposition apparatus, and others, and has been applied to various fields for manufacturing semiconductor devices.
Thin film deposition apparatuses have been continuously improved to make a highly-integrated chip and increase the efficiency of management and productivity.
An objective of the present invention is to provide an ALD thin film deposition apparatus and a method thereof, by which a thin film having excellent electrical characteristics, a high purity, in which impurities are removed as much as possible, and an excellent step coverage can be formed, and the efficiency and productivity of management can be improved.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an ALD thin film deposition apparatus including an exhaust line for continuously maintaining a desired process pressure before and after depositing a thin film, and pumping a reactor, and a deposition method.
To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin film deposition apparatus including: a reactor in which a wafer is mounted and a thin film is deposited on the wafer; a first reaction gas supply portion for supplying a first reaction gas to the reactor; a second reaction gas supply portion for supplying a second reaction gas to the reactor; a first reaction gas supply line for connecting the first reaction gas supply portion to the reactor; a second reaction gas supply line for connecting the second reaction gas supply portion to the reactor; a first inert gas supply line for supplying an inert gas from an inert gas supply source to the first reaction gas supply line; a second inert gas supply line for supplying the inert gas from the inert gas supply source to the second reaction gas supply line; and an exhaust line for exhausting the gas from the reactor.
To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an ALD thin film deposition method including: mixing a first reaction gas and an inert gas to form a first mixture gas; supplying the first mixture gas to an upper surface of a wafer received in a reactor; mixing a second reaction gas and the inert gas to form a second mixture gas; and supplying the second mixture gas to edges of the wafer.